economy

Cropland in the Midwest is losing its value as the downturn in the agriculture economy continues, according to a number of surveys by agricultural economists. Record-high crop prices contributed to record-high land values in 2012 and 2013, but now, that party is over.

Oklahoma women working full time in 2014 earned about 78 percent of their male counterparts, reports NewsOK. The data comes from estimates by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. There was no improvement from last year’s ratio, which was also 78 percent. Oklahoma has a worse percentage than the nation overall. In the U.S., women's median weekly pay was about 82 percent of the pay for men.

The High Plains and Southwest regions are no longer on top when it comes to the nation’s fastest-growing economies. According to TheWall Street Journal’s Real Time Economics blog, the downturn in the oil industry has pushed economic momentum toward the coasts.

New economic data shows a strong report for High Plains states since the beginning of the great Recession in 2007. According to The Topeka Capital-Journal, all of the states in the Southern High Plains region fell below the national average in unemployment rate. Nebraska has by far the lowest rate, with 2.9 percent. Colorado is next, with 3.8 percent, followed by Kansas at 4.1 and Oklahoma at 4.3.

After a decline earlier this year, job growth in rural America is back on track, reports The Daily Yonder. This April saw 232,000 more jobs in rural counties than during the same period a year ago. In addition, the unemployment rate in rural areas has fallen from 6.2 percent a year ago to 5.4 percent in that time.

Colorado is leading the nation with innovation, in recent years Boulder and Denver have become as home to tech startup companies in an unlikely industry. Agriculture is where the money’s at in Colorado these days; growers are patenting new technology in irrigation, food science and plant genetics according to a report from NPR correspondent Luke Runyoon.

When it comes to the decline in oil prices, over 40 percent of Texans say it will impact businesses positively in their region. However, more than 50 percent say the fall is bad for the state's economy.

Overuse of antipsychotic drugs in some Kansas nursing homes endangering patientsPowerful antipsychotic drugs are used too much and inappropriately to manage the behavior of elders with dementia in under-staffed care facilities, according to reporting by the Kansas Health Institute. Kansas ranks 47th worse for use of these drugs. The drugs carry serious side-effects, and reports say as many as 1 in 12 elders taking antipsychotics die from use of the drugs for dementia.